Secrets of the Playboy's Bride by Leanne Banks Read Free Book Online Page B

brushed it aside. She couldn’t have done this to just anyone. She’d chosen Leo because of what his father had done to her family. In the scheme of things, it was fair. It wasn’t as if he would miss the money.
    Lord, what thoughts to have while she was getting married. “Who gives this bride?” the minister asked.
    “We do,” Tami and Tina said and giggled. Tami took Calista’s hand and reached for Leo’s, then put them together. “Be good to my sister,” she whispered to Leo. “Or I’ll make your life a living hell. Ask Aunt Sharon. I can do it.”
    Leo blinked and shot Calista a bemused look. Embarrassed, Calista shook her head and mouthed teenagers . Leo’s mouth lifted in a half grin and he nodded, both his hands enclosing hers.
    Within seconds, she was held captive by his gaze as he began to recite the vows. “I, Leonardo Grant, take you Calista French…”
    The rest of the ceremony passed in a daze. She looked down at the diamond and platinum band Leo placed on her finger. Was this real? Was this happening?
    “Calista,” Leo whispered. “Ring.”
    Biting her lip, she took the platinum band from Tina and pushed it down his finger. His hands were so much larger than hers, warmer and stronger. In a different lifetime, she wondered if she could have trusted him, relied on him. She remembered what his father had done and dismissed the thought. Deep, underneath it all, Leo was a liar, and she’d just joined with him in the biggest lie of her life.
    “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
    Leo lowered his head and took her mouth with a kiss of possession and the promise of passion. He’d done his part. Now she would have to do hers.
     
    Less than an hour later, they changed clothes and took Leo’s yacht for a ride around the lake. After a late lunch that she didn’t consume because she was still too nervous to eat, her sisters and Justin went for a swim. Leo madefriendly small talk with all of her family. He promised her sisters that he would take them skiing next time they visited.
    All too soon, the sun faded and the air turned chilly. The yacht returned to the dock and Calista kissed her family goodbye before Leo’s helicopter took them away. She watched them go, fighting a feeling of abandonment. She felt Leo slide his hand behind her back and around her waist and closed her eyes, girding herself for the night to come.
    “Thank you for letting them come,” she said. “It meant a lot to me.”
    “You’re welcome,” he said, his lips twitching. “As long as Tami doesn’t come after me with any sharp objects.”
    She laughed despite the way her stomach twisted with nerves. “She’s a big bluffer. Very dramatic and emotional. She’s the one who has asthma. She gives Sharon and me hives with some of the things she does, but she’s got a big heart.”
    “Like her sister,” he said and began to lead her back to the house.
    “Hmm,” she said in a noncommittal voice.
    “You haven’t eaten anything all day,” he said.
    She glanced up at him again, taking in his hard jaw and the sheer maleness of his physique. “How do you know?”
    “My staff told me you ate nothing before the wedding, and I noticed that you ate nothing on the boat. Except for one bite of the cake.”
    “It was a big day.”
    “Yes, so I want you to eat something now. What shall I ask my staff to bring you?”
    “I hate to bother them.”
    “You’re not bothering,” he said impatiently. “They are paid to do this. They spend a lot of time bored, so they’re actually glad to have something to do.”
    Skeptical, she shot him a sideways glance. “Who told you that? Someone who wanted a raise?”
    He chuckled. “If you don’t tell me what you want, then I’ll order a five-course meal.”
    “A turkey sandwich,” she said quickly.
    “Done,” he said and squeezed her shoulders. She was still surprised at how kind he’d been to her sisters. She hadn’t expected him to be an ogre,